Flour Bluff Junior High Spring 2012

"What I truly appreciate about the opportunity provided to me by teaching Family Science Night is the belief I've gained that extra-curricular, organized instruction might allow for better learning opportunities and increased absorption of information by the kids involved. While it tends to be a struggle to engage children in this age range with anything they might perceive as extra work, I do believe its is important  to try and the looks of pure, unadulterated interest that I have viewed throughout the course of this assignment have led me to believe that it is quite possible to be successful."

"One thing I love about these Family Science Nights is that we are all doing the same thing, working towards our future goals of being educators and that we are all going through the same thing. I also like how each and every one of us is helpful to one another. This make the transition so much smoother and rewarding!"

"This last event proved how much I actually knew about this topic and how much more confident I had become."

"I used to think that being involved with parents was as simple as sending something home with the child and hoping that the parent received it or having a parent teacher conference and calling the parent once a month. Clearly I was wrong, there are so many different way to be involved and family science nights are one of them."

"I felt that I have grown a lot this semester, because before I came into this class I did not know anything about science. I now feel way more comfortable presenting scientific information to my students and having a positive attitude about it. I am also more comfortable in presenting information to the parents as well."

"Now I remember the honor roll assemblies and the attendance assemblies that my parents attended but even then they didn't come into contact with my teacher and I do not want to be the teacher who doesn't talk to parents."

"I remember in the beginning being very nervous  and thinking to myself that i would probably stumble over my words and sound like I don't know what I'm talking about but actually going through the experience I found that it all came naturally."

"Through this experience I have developed more useful skills that I will use when teaching students and helping them grow cognitively, emotionally and physically."

"I have become increasingly more confident in my science teaching abilities!"

"At the beginning of the semester, inquiry-based science was new to me. I realize now how important it is in the classroom or even at a science event to help the student to get his or her own understanding of the content as they play an active role in the learning process."

Ella Barnes Elementary Spring 2012

"This event was a dream come true because not only was there more parental participation but also the children were eager to learn science. Family Science Night at Barnes Elementary was the best event ever....The students became effective thinkers and the world of science started making sense!"

"I was glad we got be be around a lot of parents because it gave me the confidence I needed to believe I knew what I was doing." 


"I learned from our own research and the other groups' projects that we need to pay more attention to what we eat and act in our daily lives to keep being healthy and happy."


"We really got to show and explain our research and show that we really worked hard which felt rewarding."


"I realized that elementary students know a whole lot more than I thought."


"Its pretty amazing to see kids so young so interested in something like medicine. She says she is planning to go to medical school."


"Its always fun to see what kind of personalities the students have. It makes me so excited to be able to work with the age group one day."


"The reward  of seeing and being a part of a student's breakthrough when understanding a new concept of working through data is an experience that words cannot describe."


"Its funny because every time I eat something now I always think about my poster and I think about, "Am I making the healthier choice or not?". 

Hamlin Middle School Spring 2012

"I actually really enjoyed teaching science. I NEVER thought about teaching science but is surprisingly really fun and very interesting. You learn a lot as you teach and I think that would be the best aspect of being a science teacher."


"The way I thought about teaching science before this has completely altered. For me, science has always been a foreign language that I have had a difficult time mastering. When I did this event, I felt like was able to completely understand and teach science to these participants without overloading their brains with too much information."


"Science is everywhere and in our daily lives. By researching this topic and seeing how common it is in our everyday lives, I saw that science can be implemented and be interesting."


"Getting exposed to these interactions is a better experience for me as a future teaching in learning to handle different situations. "


"Growing up I never took much interest in this subject as I do today after this experience. I never realized that there is science in just about everything we do and that it surrounds our everyday living."


"Family Science can be a stepping stone to get parents comfortable in getting involved."


"Just reaching one person to become healthier and take charge of their life is worth all the work to me."


"I wish when I was going to school we had things like Family Science Nights that I could have attended with my parents."


"I realized there are way to to teach any lesson and adapt the lesson to fit your specific grade level."


"The specific costs should be priceless as long as your students and parents leave with more than they came in with."


"Science was always my worst subject and I never felt like I was smart enough to learn or teach it. This is why I was so nervous for this project because I felt as if I was not qualified. However after this Family Science Night, I realized I could teach science to children and in a way that they could understand it. I definitely felt accomplished."


"The benefits gained were the connections made with my own community, helping families learn about the scientific method, exploring science, and using problem solving skills that were enhanced by the inquiry-based teaching methods."